Joining the Pack
by LoveTheBoyWithTheBread
Summary: How did the boy from District 4 die on the first day? How did Peeta get into the Career pack at the last minute? Well, this is how. Peeta's POV. Oneshot. Enjoy : T for safety.


**A/N--I always wondered how Peeta got into the Careers at the last minute. Here is my rendition of the events.**

**Disclaimer--Hunger Games, characters, setting, everything--not mine!**

**Enjoy :)!  
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She's going to do it. I can see it in her eyes, in the way her body is angling towards the Cornucopia. She's going to do it, and she's going to die. _No, no, no, no, NO!_ I try and make eye contact, but she doesn't look at me. She looks around, she looks at the golden horn, piled high with everything she needs to survive. She looks at the silver bow and arrows, her best chance of survival in these Games. But she doesn't look at me.

_Look. _ I plead. And she does. She glances briefly in my direction. My eyes meet hers, and I shake my head quickly. She can't do it.

The buzzer sounds, and I hope that the delay will keep her from going in. She looks furious. She grabs something lying on the ground next to her, races forward, reaches for a backpack. Another kid is there, ready to grab it.

I'm watching her, and my chances of getting out of here unnoticed are growing slimmer and slimmer, but I can't tear my eyes away. _Just drop the backpack and run, Katniss!_ I want to scream it at her, but I can't find my voice.

The girl from District 2 is running at them, full-speed, which although isn't very fast, is fast enough. She flings a knife at the boy Katniss is fighting with over the orange backpack. She is deadly accurate. It hits him in the back of the head. He spits blood up on Katniss' face, falls to the ground. Katniss sees the girl, sees her deadly knives, grabs the bag, and makes a run for it.

_Yes! _I think to myself. Or rather, I shout. Not very loudly, but loud enough. Loud enough for the Careers to hear. The boy from District 4 sees me. He is large and looks deadly. I haven't moved from my platform, I've been so busy watching Katniss' fate unfold.

Doesn't he have someone more formidable than me to kill? But, no, he's got a spear in his hands, he's looking at me, a devilish grin contorts his features into something altogether unrecognizable. I prepare myself to die.

I glance back in the direction of Katniss. She's out of here already, nothing to note that she had ever hesitated. The girl from District 2 has given up chasing her, gone back to the Cornucopia. Very few are left now. The girl and her District partner are with the two tributes from District one, and another girl, probably the girl from District 4. They are converging on a small looking boy. I don't know what district he is from. He won't survive this.

That's it. The 6 careers, me, and the boy. It takes a second for this to register, then I am off in the direction of the fallen boy who had been fighting with Katniss over the bag. I'm not a fast runner, but I am faster than the boy from District 4. And I am a lot closer to the fallen boy than he is, anyway. I am there in a matter of seconds, pulling the knife from the back of his head. The blood that flows from the dead boy makes me sick, but it is the only weapon I have.

_All you need to do is get your hands on a knife, and at least you have a chance._

I take comfort in those words that Katniss had shouted at me, now. It's true, I am a good wrestler, and that is all this is, right? I can at least put up a fight. Maybe even injure the boy enough so that I can get away, into the forest. Or maybe I don't need to.

I have a second to wipe the blade on the fabric of my outfit, cleaning it of blood and brain. Then the boy is on me. Not _on_ on me, but he's right there. I need to get the spear out of his hand, and I think I know how.

He lunges, I step to the side, turn around. He lunges, I take a step to the other side, turn around. It is like a bull fight, and this bull is getting mad. There is a look of pure rage on his face as he yells in utter fury. I take a compulsive step backwards. He throws the spear. I barely have time to take that step to the side as the thing whizzes past with such force, I know that I would be dead. But I've done it. Too late, the boy realizes his mistake. He is weaponless, and his only advantage is the training he has had, maybe a little bit of extra fat and muscle, but that's it. While I've got a knife. A nice, long, serrated knife, perfect for carving flesh.

But I won't be carving flesh. I won't be a piece in these games, I refuse. I will defend myself, kill him if I have to, I will probably have to.

He doesn't run away. He's too prideful for that. That will be his downfall. A cursory glance over his shoulder lets me know that none of the other Careers are prepared to help him, they are still converging on the poor, helpless boy.

He takes a step forward, snarling.

_Let him come._

Another step. "Hello, loverboy." He says.

_You can't goad me._

One more step, and he is right in front of me, close enough for me to stab him. He puts his hand up, curls two fingers towards himself: "If you dare."

_I dare._

I lunge at him, not the way he had lunged at me, but carefully calculated steps, precision and brains, where he is only brawn. My knife sinks through the flesh of his bicep. He screams in pain and rage, punches me in the face. My knife lodges itself in his chest. He goes still.

_It's over._ I think, just as he kicks me in the shin. _Not over._ I stab the knife deeper into his chest, deeper, still. His limbs thrash wildly as he searches for purchase, searches for life.

_Now, it's over._ And it is. I have taken a life. I have killed.

My legs go wobbly, at least, I feel like my legs have gone wobbly. They haven't. They are just as sturdy as they've ever been, and I am alive. I tear the knife out of his chest. This time, I clean the blade on his outfit. His blood, his clothes, his life--gone.

When I look up, the girl that I had assumed was from District 4 is standing in front of me with a look of awe on her face. "You killed him?" She asks, astounded. "But he was so... strong."

She is unarmed so I don't see her as a threat. The boy from District 2 approaches, along with the girl from District 1. The district partner of the boy I have just killed walks back to the other Careers.

"Join, or die?" The boy from District 2 asks me. Is he really giving me the choice of joining the Careers?

"Just kill him, Cato." The girl from 1 says, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. She is the beautiful blonde, I remember. Her emerald eyes shine with malice and boredom all in one.

"Shut up, Glimmer, or I'll just kill you!" He yells back. Cato has some major anger issues.

I stand there, pretend to consider. Which is when the plan forms in my mind. If I am with the Careers, I can keep Katniss safer. I'll be able to lead them away from her, protect her. This is my best chance at keeping her safe. I'd probably be dead in a few days without the food here, anyway.

"I think I'll join." I say in a laid back tone.

Cato nods his head. "Alright, loverboy. We could use you."

And with that, I am in the Careers.

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**A/N--Please Review, whether you liked it or not! Thanks!**


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